And welcome new subscribers! I’ve explored spiritual grit and pain a little in the last two posts. I thought it would be fun and inspiring for our community to share our two most encouraging/inspiring reads (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or Scripture), along with your go-to movie that boosts your spirit. I’ll go first:
Scripture - Psalm 139 is one of my go-to’s when I’m feeling low or need a reminder of how God sees me and knows me.
Book - Book IV of Mere Christianity, “Beyond Personality.” - I love some of Lewis’s imagery and his tone in the final part of MC. I especially love “Good Infection” and “The Obstinate Toy Soldiers.” Classic!
Movie - A Good Year with Russel Crowe. Whenever I need to lighten things up, I watch this. And, no joke, I probably watch it 2-3 times a year! Ha. Another Russel Crowe film that inspires me is Master & Commander.
The Psalms for me as well! Psalm 29:11 reminds me that "the Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace"... sometimes it feels like I have one or the other, but His provision is always both - HIS strength, HE HIMSELF my peace.
I keep returning to "Upon Finishing A Beloved Book", a liturgy from Every Moment Holy, and this line has stuck with me: "What I feel is, at its heart, a homesick hope for a place of unbroken communion with my Creator, and with his people, and with all of creation. What I most desire is to open my eyes and find that, for the first time in my life, I am home and breathing the wild winds of my native land." I am hanging that hope-filled passage in many places around my house.
I can't help it: Pride & Prejudice (2005) is a comfort view for me!
These days (juggling a newborn babe) I have been savoring Psalm 127 alongside Psalm 139 - the tandem wisdom in the fact that our days are ordered by the Lord and he gives us all the strength, growth and sleep we need to sustain us and build us into who he wants us to be.
Fiction - I just read “The Wishing Game” and it is sticking with me. While not Christian fiction, it was about inspiring the way the stories we read as children cultivate wonder and impact our lives. Also thinking about how to inspire playfulness and hopefulness even in dark personal circumstances.
Movie - Up will always and forever lift my spirits and inspire some joy. I think I’ve watched it eight times since babe joined us. Oh, and “We Bought A Zoo”. Lots of movies and things to inspire childlike wonder!
Psalm 23 was a friend to me when my mom died and every time I read it I notice a new facet to this poem.
I am always freshly encouraged by a book called Humble Roots by Hannah Anderson. I think it is a beautiful and brilliant work which challenges and inspires me to live in the freedom of humility. I am helped by all her nature metaphors as well.
This Beautiful Fantastic is a funny little film that lifts me out of a bad mood any day. But I also adore The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Beautiful, witty, thoughtful it reminds me of the joy of being a "ghost cat."
Just a few pages of an Elizabeth Goudge book gets me inspired at the moment. She has a way of telling story that is poetic but also has layers of theology to ponder if you read slow enough to notice, as well as subtle biblical references. It is just what I need at the moment. I just began ‘The Scent of Water’ and it already has me captivated. Alas, I can usually only manage a few pages a day before my eyes close in on me. 😂
And this one is thanks to you, but I am now reading ‘My Utmost for His Highest’ devotional by Chambers for the third year running. Grateful that you got me onto that!
If I want to sink into something inspiring on the television I lean towards a British period drama series like ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ or ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’. 🤍
1. Scripture - I am partial to Psalm 18. It reminds me that God is my Rock and my fortress. It is Him who I can lean on in times of trouble. I’m reading and studying Lamentations right now as well, and I am learning so much about the cost of going after the things of this world rather than the things of God. While God did punish Israel and Judah for years and years of sinful behavior, He never forsook them. I find that so comforting! God will allow us to feel the sting of the consequences of our sin, but His desire is always to bring us to repentance so that our fellowship with Him can be restored.
2. Book - Ann Voskamp’s book 1,000 Gifts had a profound influence on me. I moved from a small town in an industrial area in Illinois to a very affluent, suburban area in Georgia twenty years ago. The pressure and temptation to “keep up with the Jones’” is a battle that I have fought the entire time we’ve lived here. In some ways, I’ve succeeded, and in some ways, I have failed. Ann’s book encouraged me to see everything in my life - the good, the bad, the mundane as a gift from God, and to look for those gifts each day.
3. The Princess Bride is my go-to feel good movie. The bad guy loses, the good guy wins, and true love prevails. What can I say… I’m a sucker for a happy ending!
Jeremiah 29:11. I believe it is the most quoted verse other than John 3:16! I need to remind myself daily that God has known the plans He has for me even before I was born. Today!! He has plans for me.
I love CS Lewis as several have mentioned in the responses.
Also. In the book When Breath Becomes Air, the author asks tough questions . "What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? "
And as for movies, there are several. This is an old one!
The Spitfire Grill. I believe the word Redemption sums up this movie
Scripture - Psalm 91, especially the first verse: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the almighty.” A continual reminder of where, and in Whom I find peace.
Book - “Till We Have Faces” by Lewis. Reading this book was a feast of beauty and hope in the midst of intense suffering. “The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born.”
Movie - “Babette’s Feast” - A convicting return to simplicity, forgiveness, humility, and a beautiful reminder of Christ’s total sacrifice. Tim Willard - are you familiar with this film? (A true treasure - I highly recommend to all!)
a. John 14:1 "Let not your heart be troubles...trust in me (Jesus) and my Father." There's plenty to trouble anyone's heart - this verse always calms me and brings my focus back to Him.
2. Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis. Love his humility, honesty and God's pursuit of "the most reluctant convert in England."
3. The Boy in Striped Pajamas - not a calming and soothing movie, a heartbreaker. But important
and thought-provoking. Kudos to the film's makers.
Psalm 40 is my favorite place to land when I am in need of encouragement: I waited patiently on the Lord; I cried out to the Lord, and He heard my cry! He rescued me from the pit, from the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock -- He gave me a new song, even a song of praise! Others will hear that song of praise and know HIM who gave it! (paraphrased)
Book: Every winter I reread Jane Eyre... I just love it. A story that was/is relevant and impactful at every various stage of ME is a very good one. That meek yet tenacious, little yet very strong Jane, who says she herself cares, when no one else cares for her, and who says that she herself cares about her conduct, when it matters to no one else - and when only God is watching - is my favorite personaje.
Movie(s): I enjoy "Queen of Katwe," and "McFarland, USA," Both movies make me want to DO "good things" for my precious students and inspire me with the common message of perseverance, courage, and ultimately "CHOICE" in our available opportunities. I am inspired and motivated by cheering for these real-life characters and by celebrating their victories and personal growth. While my "poor" upbringing was different from these individuals, to a little south-Arkansas girl struggling to overcome an inheritance of poverty, shame, and victim-mindset, I CELEBRATE when they win over their situations as much as when they win their competitions. Look at God!
Scripture - 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 has been a life-long passage since I can remember. I resonate with the groaning that I experience here in my earthly body and I so long to be "at home" with the Lord.
Book - I can't help, but to always say Donald Miller's "A Million Miles In A Thousand Years." It's the story of his life being turned into a film and the realization that his current life story was not worthy of being told and so he sets out to live a more meaningful life. I know that lowly living in obedience to the Lord is what we are called to, but I can't help shake the idea that I get this one earthly body to live in and living in the grind and monotony of the day-to-day toil can easily lose it's meaning. For me it's basically a call to live intentionally.
Movie - hmmm Into The Wild always hits my heartstrings to break free from the pressures of society and be alone in the wild.
1. Lately I've been reflecting on Zeph. 3:17 and Ps. 18:19. It blows my mind that God delights in me. I need to keep pouring this truth in until I fully believe it.
2. I love Amanda Dykes' first novel, Whose Waves These Are. I keep coming back to it via audiobook because it feels like home. ❤️
3. Haha, I wouldn't call this inspiring or encouraging, but Princess Diaries 2 lightens my spirit.😄
P.S. After I sent off my answers, I regretted that I didn't also mention another book, besides C.S. Lewis'. I also loved The Beauty Chasers by you. I appreciated the fresh and different way of seeing/recognizing God and his glory. I also used it in a few gatherings I spoke at and it gave me a great impetus to find/see God in my surroundings. A great and unique book. I felt I needed to add it.
1. Scripture Psalms 18:20-24 ”God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I’m alert to God’s ways; I don’t take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.“
2. Book - Encounters with Jesus - Keller
3. Movie - “Immortal Beloved” with Gary Oldman as Beethoven. Especially the last scene where they play “Ode to Joy”
The Psalms for me as well! Psalm 29:11 reminds me that "the Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace"... sometimes it feels like I have one or the other, but His provision is always both - HIS strength, HE HIMSELF my peace.
I keep returning to "Upon Finishing A Beloved Book", a liturgy from Every Moment Holy, and this line has stuck with me: "What I feel is, at its heart, a homesick hope for a place of unbroken communion with my Creator, and with his people, and with all of creation. What I most desire is to open my eyes and find that, for the first time in my life, I am home and breathing the wild winds of my native land." I am hanging that hope-filled passage in many places around my house.
I can't help it: Pride & Prejudice (2005) is a comfort view for me!
These days (juggling a newborn babe) I have been savoring Psalm 127 alongside Psalm 139 - the tandem wisdom in the fact that our days are ordered by the Lord and he gives us all the strength, growth and sleep we need to sustain us and build us into who he wants us to be.
Fiction - I just read “The Wishing Game” and it is sticking with me. While not Christian fiction, it was about inspiring the way the stories we read as children cultivate wonder and impact our lives. Also thinking about how to inspire playfulness and hopefulness even in dark personal circumstances.
Movie - Up will always and forever lift my spirits and inspire some joy. I think I’ve watched it eight times since babe joined us. Oh, and “We Bought A Zoo”. Lots of movies and things to inspire childlike wonder!
Psalm 23 was a friend to me when my mom died and every time I read it I notice a new facet to this poem.
I am always freshly encouraged by a book called Humble Roots by Hannah Anderson. I think it is a beautiful and brilliant work which challenges and inspires me to live in the freedom of humility. I am helped by all her nature metaphors as well.
This Beautiful Fantastic is a funny little film that lifts me out of a bad mood any day. But I also adore The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Beautiful, witty, thoughtful it reminds me of the joy of being a "ghost cat."
Just a few pages of an Elizabeth Goudge book gets me inspired at the moment. She has a way of telling story that is poetic but also has layers of theology to ponder if you read slow enough to notice, as well as subtle biblical references. It is just what I need at the moment. I just began ‘The Scent of Water’ and it already has me captivated. Alas, I can usually only manage a few pages a day before my eyes close in on me. 😂
And this one is thanks to you, but I am now reading ‘My Utmost for His Highest’ devotional by Chambers for the third year running. Grateful that you got me onto that!
If I want to sink into something inspiring on the television I lean towards a British period drama series like ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ or ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’. 🤍
1. Scripture - I am partial to Psalm 18. It reminds me that God is my Rock and my fortress. It is Him who I can lean on in times of trouble. I’m reading and studying Lamentations right now as well, and I am learning so much about the cost of going after the things of this world rather than the things of God. While God did punish Israel and Judah for years and years of sinful behavior, He never forsook them. I find that so comforting! God will allow us to feel the sting of the consequences of our sin, but His desire is always to bring us to repentance so that our fellowship with Him can be restored.
2. Book - Ann Voskamp’s book 1,000 Gifts had a profound influence on me. I moved from a small town in an industrial area in Illinois to a very affluent, suburban area in Georgia twenty years ago. The pressure and temptation to “keep up with the Jones’” is a battle that I have fought the entire time we’ve lived here. In some ways, I’ve succeeded, and in some ways, I have failed. Ann’s book encouraged me to see everything in my life - the good, the bad, the mundane as a gift from God, and to look for those gifts each day.
3. The Princess Bride is my go-to feel good movie. The bad guy loses, the good guy wins, and true love prevails. What can I say… I’m a sucker for a happy ending!
Jeremiah 29:11. I believe it is the most quoted verse other than John 3:16! I need to remind myself daily that God has known the plans He has for me even before I was born. Today!! He has plans for me.
I love CS Lewis as several have mentioned in the responses.
Also. In the book When Breath Becomes Air, the author asks tough questions . "What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? "
And as for movies, there are several. This is an old one!
The Spitfire Grill. I believe the word Redemption sums up this movie
Scripture - Psalm 91, especially the first verse: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the almighty.” A continual reminder of where, and in Whom I find peace.
Book - “Till We Have Faces” by Lewis. Reading this book was a feast of beauty and hope in the midst of intense suffering. “The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born.”
Movie - “Babette’s Feast” - A convicting return to simplicity, forgiveness, humility, and a beautiful reminder of Christ’s total sacrifice. Tim Willard - are you familiar with this film? (A true treasure - I highly recommend to all!)
a. John 14:1 "Let not your heart be troubles...trust in me (Jesus) and my Father." There's plenty to trouble anyone's heart - this verse always calms me and brings my focus back to Him.
2. Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis. Love his humility, honesty and God's pursuit of "the most reluctant convert in England."
3. The Boy in Striped Pajamas - not a calming and soothing movie, a heartbreaker. But important
and thought-provoking. Kudos to the film's makers.
Psalm 40 is my favorite place to land when I am in need of encouragement: I waited patiently on the Lord; I cried out to the Lord, and He heard my cry! He rescued me from the pit, from the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock -- He gave me a new song, even a song of praise! Others will hear that song of praise and know HIM who gave it! (paraphrased)
Book: Every winter I reread Jane Eyre... I just love it. A story that was/is relevant and impactful at every various stage of ME is a very good one. That meek yet tenacious, little yet very strong Jane, who says she herself cares, when no one else cares for her, and who says that she herself cares about her conduct, when it matters to no one else - and when only God is watching - is my favorite personaje.
Movie(s): I enjoy "Queen of Katwe," and "McFarland, USA," Both movies make me want to DO "good things" for my precious students and inspire me with the common message of perseverance, courage, and ultimately "CHOICE" in our available opportunities. I am inspired and motivated by cheering for these real-life characters and by celebrating their victories and personal growth. While my "poor" upbringing was different from these individuals, to a little south-Arkansas girl struggling to overcome an inheritance of poverty, shame, and victim-mindset, I CELEBRATE when they win over their situations as much as when they win their competitions. Look at God!
Scripture - 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 has been a life-long passage since I can remember. I resonate with the groaning that I experience here in my earthly body and I so long to be "at home" with the Lord.
Book - I can't help, but to always say Donald Miller's "A Million Miles In A Thousand Years." It's the story of his life being turned into a film and the realization that his current life story was not worthy of being told and so he sets out to live a more meaningful life. I know that lowly living in obedience to the Lord is what we are called to, but I can't help shake the idea that I get this one earthly body to live in and living in the grind and monotony of the day-to-day toil can easily lose it's meaning. For me it's basically a call to live intentionally.
Movie - hmmm Into The Wild always hits my heartstrings to break free from the pressures of society and be alone in the wild.
1. Lately I've been reflecting on Zeph. 3:17 and Ps. 18:19. It blows my mind that God delights in me. I need to keep pouring this truth in until I fully believe it.
2. I love Amanda Dykes' first novel, Whose Waves These Are. I keep coming back to it via audiobook because it feels like home. ❤️
3. Haha, I wouldn't call this inspiring or encouraging, but Princess Diaries 2 lightens my spirit.😄
P.S. After I sent off my answers, I regretted that I didn't also mention another book, besides C.S. Lewis'. I also loved The Beauty Chasers by you. I appreciated the fresh and different way of seeing/recognizing God and his glory. I also used it in a few gatherings I spoke at and it gave me a great impetus to find/see God in my surroundings. A great and unique book. I felt I needed to add it.
1. Scripture Psalms 18:20-24 ”God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I’m alert to God’s ways; I don’t take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.“
2. Book - Encounters with Jesus - Keller
3. Movie - “Immortal Beloved” with Gary Oldman as Beethoven. Especially the last scene where they play “Ode to Joy”